That Night in the Ballroom
by gypsybelleoftheopera
Summary: One night Belle is given a mysterious gift. But what she doesn't know is that this gift will provide her with a night that she will never forget. Based on the ballroom scene from the movie Labyrinth. In FTL it takes place after Lacey and in between Skin Deep, and in Storybrooke it takes place some time after The Crocodile. One-shot. Please r & r.


After a hard day of working, Belle returned to her room. It had been almost two weeks since Rumpelstilskin had moved her from the dungeon to her own room. When she walked in, she noticed something that wasn't there before, a package with her name on it. Carefully she unwrapped it and smiled as she pulled out its content; a music box of a white and gold gazebo, with a doll in the middle dressed in a white, poofy ball gown that looked just like her. She inspected every corner of the box until she found the knob at the bottom and started winding it up, smiling with glee as she set the box down and watched the doll spin around to the music. She knew it was from Rumple, but she didn't want to thank him, for she knew he would deny doing anything kind for her. As she changed into her nightgown, she hummed the tune from the box until she tucked herself into bed.

Later that night she swore she heard the music again, even though there was no possible way anyone could have wound up the box. When she opened her eyes, she was no longer lying in bed, but instead found herself in the gazebo from the box. She looked down and saw that she was now wearing the white gown the doll wore, along with diamond jewelry and white flowers in her hair. Instead of all the open spaces, she was surrounded by mirrors. She looked around confused, not sure of what was going on or what to do or where to go, when she suddenly heard music coming from the other side of one of the mirrors. She pressed against it, surprised when it pushed open, and walked inside.

On the other side of the mirror was a white ballroom lit by candles with gold and silver decorations. The room was packed with people in dancing in masks. She looked around, intrigued yet confused, until she noticed one figure at the end of the room standing still. He removed his mask, revealing himself to be Rumpelstilskin. The two of them just stared at each other for a moment, too scared to make a move, when a group of dancers passed in between them, revealing him to be gone when they left. Belle continued to walk around looking for Rumple as the guests interacted with her. Meanwhile as she was doing this, Rumple was watching her every move, from dancing with other women to hiding his face behind a fan.

After looking around some more, Belle finally found him in between two other women. When their eyes met, without a word, he approached her, slowly pulled her into his arms, and they began to dance with each other. As they danced, their gaze never parted, both of them completely mesmerized by the other. "But I'll be there for you," Rumple whispered as he sang along with the song that played, the song from the music box, "as the world falls down."

The more they spun around, the more Belle noticed that everyone else had stopped dancing and was now gathered around them, watching them. Suddenly she heard the clock chime, which caused her to worry even though she didn't know why. She then looked back at Rumple, who smiled a wicked yet sensual smile at her. She pushed herself away from him and the crowd and ran back to where she came from, noticing that it was now closed. She tried pushing it open, but the door had now become a wall. She picked up a chair from a table next to her and threw it at the mirror. Suddenly every wall in the room shattered like glass, everyone screamed, and the pieces of the room and everyone in it started to shatter and break away into a black nothingness. Belle felt the sensation of falling, even though she was standing completely still. As she "fell," she felt her gown fade away back to her nightgown. The darkness eventually faded away and she found herself back in her bedroom.

She couldn't help but feel confused, questioning whether what had just happened to her was a dream or not. On the one hand she was still in her nightgown in her room as if nothing had happened, while on the other why else would she be suddenly standing in the middle of the room. Besides everything felt too real to have just been a dream. She looked over at the music box and picked it up to inspect it, for she knew it had something to do with the night's events. But as she looked, she didn't see anything different about it from before the ball. Regardless of if it was a dream or not, she knew for sure that it made her tired and that she needed her sleep. As she fell back asleep, there was one question that burned inside her more than the reality of the ball, the question of Rumple's feelings for her, and more importantly her feelings towards him in return.

* * *

"Belle!" Rumpelstilskin snapped at her. It was the next day, and Belle was in the middle of sweeping, or at least she thought, for apparently she was staring off into space. Rumple's call snapped her back into reality. "Belle, are you alright?" he asked, trying hard not to show concern. "You're not acting like yourself today."

"Yes I'm fine, it's just, um… Did something happen last night?"

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. It's just… I had this dream, or at least I think it's a dream, it felt so real, and there was this fancy ball, and you were there, and…"

"Well it must have been a dream dearie. I don't do balls. They're not really my thing."

Belle continued to sweep as Rumple walked away. While she was relieved that it was just a dream, she also couldn't help but be a little disappointed. Although as much as she hated to admit it, she wasn't surprised. After all, Rumple had never shown any actual signs of affection toward her, and knowing him, she wouldn't be surprised if he never did.

* * *

"I believe this is yours," Mr. Gold said as he pulled out a box from the cupboard. He opened up the box and smiled as he pulled out the object.

"My music box," Belle said, chuckling happily as he handed it to her. "I knew you were the one who gave it to me."

"Who else would it have been from?" Rumple paused for a moment as he watched her examine it just like the night she first got it. "Do you remember that night," he said trembling hesitantly. Belle looked up at him. "At the ball?"

A cunning smile spread across Belle's face. "You said that it was just a dream. As I recall, balls aren't really your thing," she said mockingly.

"Yes, well, of course I said that. At the time I didn't want you to think that it had really happened."

"But why?"

"Because I was afraid. At the time I thought that it was impossible for someone as kind and beautiful as you to ever love an ugly beast like me; that if I were to never have you, I would have at least had that night."

"So then explain to me. How did it happen? How is it that it was all set up to feel like it was just a dream?"

"I put a spell on the music box to essentially come to life. When you were in that room before the ball, you were actually inside the box, and you had basically become the doll. As for the ballroom and all those people, even though all of it was real, I created them. And that clock that went off, that meant that the spell was about to fade away soon. Other than that, I don't really know what else there is to tell."

Mr. Gold took the music box from Belle and wound it up as far back as it could go. He then set it down and stood up, leaning his cane against the counter. "May I have the pleasure of a dance?" he asked, sticking his hand out. Smiling up at him, Belle accepted, and just like that night, he pulled her in close to him in the same position. Unfortunately due to his limp they couldn't dance full out like before, but they were both content with swaying back and forth to the music. This time though, their bodies were much closer, and the fear they both felt from before was gone. "But I'll be there for you," he whispered into her ear, singing along, "as the world falls down." Belle rest her head against his chest, which caused his heart to leap out with joy. He kissed the top of her head, before resting his on hers, dancing even long after the music had stopped.


End file.
